December 13

Abolitionist Profile

Leonard Grimes was born in Virginia in 1815 to formerly enslaved parents who died when he was 10 years old.  For a time as a young man, Grimes worked for a slaveholder, traveling with him further south where he witnessed more of the violence and horror of chattel slavery on those who were enslaved.  These encounters convicted him to pursue a life-long vocation of helping enslaved people to freedom and advocating abolition.  In his late teens and early twenties, Grimes moved to Washington DC where he established himself as a carriage driver for politicians, professionals and others in the area.  Owning his own coach allowed Grimes to serve as an integral part of the Underground Railroad in Virginia and Washington DC, providing cover for transporting self-emancipated slaves and helping them move further north toward greater safety.  In 1839, he was arrested after a slaveholder swore out a warrant against him based on circumstantial evidence that Grimes had assisted a woman and six children to rejoin their husband and father and escape to Canada.  He was convicted and incarcerated for two years at a labor camp in Richmond. All these experiences led Grimes to deepen the spiritual grounding for his abolitionist commitments and soon after he was released from prison, he was ordained as a Baptist minister and started pastoring the fledgling Twelfth Baptist Church in Boston, which came to be known as The Fugitives’ Church, where he served as pastor for 27 years.

Prayer

With networks of protection and passages to freedom, come Root of Liberation.
In risky solidarity and lineages of hope, come Root of Liberation.
With rooms of generous safety and tender joy, come Root of Liberation.
In the daily practice of abolition, come Root of Liberation.  Amen.